Stephanie Miles

When Anthony Bronzo was brought on to manage marketing and advertising for Born to Run, a Seattle-based athletic shoe retailer with two physical locations and a popular online store, he was tasked with finding new ways to reach the company’s core customers—active trail runners and CrossFit devotees. In his few short months on the job, Bronzo has managed to reach those customers using a combination of targeted ads on Facebook and Google AdWords, and by running daily deals with companies like Group Commerce and CBS Local…

For a hyperlocal news publication to be successful, its editors have to do more than break news and tell fascinating stories. Using social media to promote great content and interact with local community readers is key. Here are six social media marketing tools that hyperlocal publishers can use to improve reader engagement…

Rather than having individual franchises run their own social check-in campaigns, Moe’s Southwest Grill decided to pull together their promotions and launch a nationwide campaign that aggregates Foursquare and Facebook check-ins at more than 440 Moe’s locations. Lauren Barash, the chain’s director of marketing, says she is already seeing enthusiasm from customers…

While nobody doubts that positive reviews can be good for a business, many merchants aren’t quite sure how to encourage their customers to post their opinions online — and how to respond when they receive negative feedback in such a public forum. We spoke to five experts in the field and asked what businesses should consider when managing their online reviews…

Coffee shops and punch cards usually go hand in hand. At Rain or Shine Coffee House in Portland, Oregon, however, co-owner Molly Boyl says her eco-conscious clientele was concerned about the impact that paper cards might have on the environment. She found a digital alternative with Perka, a cardless loyalty program that works on mobile phones.

By integrating existing scheduling platforms and with newer rewards programs, businesses can use the information they already have at their fingertips to increase customer loyalty, decrease client drop-off rates, and promote continued engagement at their establishments. Here are five integrated scheduling platforms and loyalty programs that small businesses can try…

Encouraging readers to comment on stories, share news tips, and contribute content involves more than adding a commenting widget or slapping a “Tips” button on the header of a site. Here are six tips from successful publishers and editors about how independent publications can solicit feedback from their readers online…

By restricting advertisers from targeting users at specific locations, Twitter has made it difficult for big brands to use its platform when running geo-targeted campaigns in the past. Clif Bar found a way around this challenge earlier this summer, when the company began asking customers with GPS-enabled devices to voluntarily tweet their locations for the chance to win coupons and prizes…

Businesses large and small are increasingly relying on branded apps to promote their products and engage customers on their mobile devices. To find out what marketers, publishers, and brands should do to promote these apps, we turned to the experts. Here are six tips that anyone can use to promote a new mobile app without spending millions in the process…

As the owner of eight Taco Del Mar franchises in Washington and Oregon, Jeff Masterjohn has to be careful that the promotions he runs don’t interfere with any campaigns being handled by his corporate bosses or fellow franchisees. One way that he has been able to do this is by running day-parted discounts with Pirq, a mobile deals platform that consumers use to find geo-targeted offers on their smartphones…

A number of mobile advertising platforms have recently stepped up with geofencing tools aimed directly at small business owners. Here are six tools that businesses of all sizes can use to reach out to consumers at targeted locations…

As a co-owner at Red 7 Salon, Jason Hall likes to think of his business as the “Cheers of the salon world.” Rather than encouraging loyalty with cash-back incentives, Hall has partnered with Belly to give away “fun” rewards — like the chance to shave one of the salon owners’ heads — that don’t cost his business a dime…

While big businesses have long managed customer loyalty programs with ease, the same can’t always be said for their small business counterparts. To find out how small business owners should launch their loyalty programs and encourage continued engagement, we spoke to eight experts in the field and asked what merchants need to do to get their programs off the ground…

In December 2011, hotelier Ronan McAuley decided to forego traditional advertising and focus his resources on social media. He now uses Offerpop to run competitions and promotions on his hotel’s Facebook page — business is already up 18%, while his marketing costs are only 20% of what they once were…

The customer feedback cards that restaurants once placed on tabletops are are being replaced with digital platforms designed to solicit feedback from guests and find resolutions to problems — before they result in negative online reviews. Here are five tools that merchants can use to collect feedback from guests on their mobile devices…

Like many small business owners, Janea Boyles is short on time and short on cash. Rather than devoting resources to building an in-house rewards and discount program at The Mercantile, the gourmet grocery shop she co-owns in Atlanta, Boyles has opted to partner with outside marketing platforms like Punchpoints, Frequentr, and Scoutmob…

The biggest question for local publishers today isn’t whether they should run mobile advertising, but which networks they should use. Here are seven mobile ad networks that local publishers can use to serve ads and fill unsold inventory on their mobile websites and apps…

At Charm City Yoga, a chain of six yoga studios in the Baltimore area, co-owner Chris Blades says he brings in $2,000 extra each month because of his loyalty program, which rewards frequent customers and sends automated reminders to clients who haven’t come back after 30 or 60 days…

Roughly half of all smartphone users are now finding offers and discounts based on their current locations, according to a 2012 report, but only 9% of small businesses are taking advantage of popular location-based networks like Foursquare to promote their brands. Here are six tips from leaders in the location-based marketing field…

As vice president of marketing for Jenn-Air, Brian Maynard oversaw the development of a mobile application that uses GPS technology to help high-end consumers connect with retailers offering Jenn-Air products in their local areas…